Aberdeen remembers a famous win against Real Madrid: The night Europe woke up to the Fergie phenomenon

The walls of the Gothenburg Lounge at Pittodrie are adorned with memories of that sodden night in Sweden more than a quarter of a century ago when Alex Ferguson secured his first piece of European silverware.

Jim Leighton's goalkeeping jersey; the warm-up top of midfielder Neil Simpson; even a photograph of the P&O ferry St Clair which transported 500 Aberdeen fans across the North Sea.

But not so much as a portrait of the man who contrived the defeat of Real Madrid.

First of many: Sir Alex Ferguson and his No 2 Archie Knox lift the Cup Winners Cup in Gothenburg

Indeed, apart from a prominent position on a centenary painting, the face of Ferguson is conspicuous by its absence from the crumbling old stadium.

The knighted Glaswegian has become just about Aberdeen's most celebrated Freeman. But not at Pittodrie. However, there seemed a determination to rectify that matter when moving to the proposed new stadium on the outskirts of the city.

Be in no doubt. No one in the club or in the city ever imagines that a replica of the Cup Winners' Cup would now sit proudly in the foyer without the man Aberdeen knew - and world football now knows - as Fergie.

Not to mention the three Scottish Premier championships, four Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup that he won for the Granite City during his eight years in charge.

Hewitt scored Aberdeen's famous winning goal in extra time against Real Madrid

It is doubtful whether the legendary Alfredo di Stefano, then manager of Real Madrid, had heard of Alex Ferguson at the start of the season 1982-83, not even after Aberdeen began with a 7-0 crushing of Sion from Switzerland.

Come May, though, the face smiling confidently at the Spaniard on the eve of the final, the present of a bottle of malt whisky in his hand, was that of a young manager with 100 per cent proof desire flowing through his veins.

The gift was the brainwave of Jock Stein who, of course, had guided Celtic to European Cup glory in 1967. Ferguson' s brainwave had been to invite Stein as an official guest and unofficial voice of experience.

'Let him feel important,' Stein had said to Ferguson, as the latter recalled in his autobiography, 'as if you are thrilled just to be in the final and only there to make up the numbers.'

Ferguson was to repeat the tactic with equal success with Johan Cruyff, the Barcelona manager, in the hours before the 1991 Cup-winners' Cup triumph, his first in Europe with Manchester United.

Ferguson's preparation has always been meticulous. Back in 1983 the Swedish hotel was selected for its seclusion, hidden away in a forest, far from any contact with the outside world. That included the WAGs, an acronym that had not yet been invented.

There was to be no communication between players and loved ones, a ban that extended to the pregnant wife of Dougie Bell.

'If she went into labour, she was to call Fergie rather than her husband,' club captain Willie Miller recalled.

The weather was horrendous in Gothenburg on the night of the final, by which time the tight-knit Aberdeen team, fortified by a siege mentality fostered by Ferguson, were more than optimistic of beating the Spanish.

Scouting had rated Real as no great shakes. 'We felt we were better than them because Fergie said we were better than them,' said Simpson.

hat statement sounds simplicity itself, but in many ways it encapsulates the effect Ferguson has on his footballers.

'His desire was our desire,' said Simpson. 'He demanded the best, and you performed your best, not out of fear but out of confidence.'

Aberdeen should have won the final in normal time. But chances were missed and the 90 minutes ended 1-1, an early Eric Black goal being cancelled out by Santillana.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark McGhee holding the European Cup Winners Cup on arrival in Aberdeen on the ferry St Clair in 1983

Enter John Hewitt, a late substitute who very nearly suffered the ignominy of himself being subbed for failing to obey orders.

'Fergie wanted me to stay up the park,' said Hewitt. 'Having just come on, I was full of energy and wanted to get in the action. I kept chasing back. He wasn't happy.'

But it was Hewitt who headed home the winner from a Mark McGhee cross.

'He always believed in his players and his players believed in him,' said Hewitt. 'He is quite simply God in Aberdeen.'

Ferguson was quayside to welcome home the St Clair and 25 years on last July the fans turned up in their thousands for the Gothenburg Greats 25th anniversary testimonial match between Aberdeen and Manchester United.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson with Willie Miller at a pre-season friendly to mark 25 years since Aberdeen's Cup Winners Cup win

'There was no greater roar than the one that greeted Fergie as he emerged from the tunnel and walked to the dugout,' the club historian recalled.

That night, for one night only, Fergie pretty much sat still. Unlike how he is remembered at Pittodrie.

'He was always jumping up to berate the linesmen,' said Lenny Taylor. 'Sit down,' the linesman barked on one occasion.

'Who's that?' Fergie snapped to his old friend and general factotum Teddy Scott. 'The Reverend Roger,' he replied. 'He's my minister up in Ellon.'